Clone Your Own

WHILE most were concentrating on the gut bursting effort of Xylia Allen to run down Punch One Out to win the Group 1 Sapphire at Sandown last week, all New Zealand watched and cheered Clone Your Own.

The former is an exciting daughter of Turanza Bale-Tayah Bale by Droopys Vieri who continues to add to her Group winning record.

The latter is a workman like son of Droopys Marco-Elie Saab by Fashion Thief who is now the winner of the Group 2 Harrison-Dawson.

Xylia Allen has what appears an almost total outcross pedigree. Her sire Turanza Bale (Primo Uno-Daishi Bale) was as tough as they come.

He was intensely in-bred to Walkabout Sid 4x3, the winning recipe that is found in many of the best offspring of Primo Uno.

Paul Wheeler bred Xylia Allen by putting Tayah Bale (Droopys Vieri-Francesca Bale) to Turanza Bale and designing a pedigree that has some classic line breedings.

At first look, I would expect you to disagree. The most obvious aspect to Xylia Allen's pedigree is the 3x4 duplication ad balance to Head Honcho.

This was a natural progression for a stud dog line bred to Head Honcho's sire Walkabout Sid. Inbreeding to the dominant son was a natural.

But there is much more to the pedigree than just that.

Miami Bale, second dam of Turanza Bale, is by Silver Ball-Katie Bale. Hot Lace, fourth dam of Tayah Bale, is by Curryhill Brute-Dynalace.

Dynalace and Katie Bale's dam Gwendalyn Bale are both by Temlee and out of half sisters Dynagold and Emiline Bale.

The imports Curryhill Brute and Silver Ball who are found in Hot Lace and Miami Bale respectively, also have much in common.

They carry links to Monalee Champion and his half sister Sheilas Pride, and also carry the litter brothers The Grand Silver and The Grand Ocean, as well as Myross Again and Kilbeg Kuda.

So by the time Turanza Bale met up with Tayah Bale and produced Xylia Allen, Wheeler was bringing in two very closely related bitches in Hot Lace and Miami Bale and positioned to impact the mating.

This has been working with great success for Paul in recent times.

Hot Lace is also found in the pedigree of Dyna Lachlan. His dam Benden Flex is intensely in-bred to Wheeler lines, and many of his best progeny carry the same theme.

BUT, while Xylia Allen was stealing his thunder with her dramatic last stride win in the Sapphire, the Kiwi bred Clone Your Own was adding to his imposing record since coming to OZ.

Clone Your Own is by the Scottish Derby winner Droopys Marco who was also a finalist in the Irish Derby. He didn't fire too well at stud at home and was sent to Australia.

Probably his claim to fame, before Clone Your Own, is Marco Man the very fast NSW sprinter who was a Wenty winner and Tweed Galaxy finalist.

The mating to Elie Saab (Fashion Thief-More Than This) was a virtual outcross and that was ideal considering the absolute saturation of in-breeding to be found amidst the pedigree of this bitch, or to be more precise her mother More Than This.

This is the family of that legend WA sprinter Sandi's Me Mum who is the fifth dam of Clone Your Own.

Sandi's Me Mum twice won the National Sprint and also won a Laurels at Sandown.

At stud she went to Amerigo Man and produced the SA Oaks winner Sandi's Best. Also in that litter was a bitch called Mum Was Magic, the fourth dam of Clone your Own.

I implore anyone interested at all in pedigree design to take great notice of how Mum Was Magic (and her Group winning sister Sandi's Best) was bred.

She carries a 2x3 cross of Promises Free and her litter brother Red Swinger (sire of Sandi's Me Mum).

I remember being sent by Peter Rose of Australian Winning Lines some figures many years ago that showed pups bred with Promises Free and her brothers Nation Parade and Red Swinger mixed were producing great stats for city winners.

Mum Was Magic is the grandmother of a bitch called More Than This (second dam of Clone Your Own).

This bitch was very classy on the racetrack finishing third in the Auckland Oaks.

It is her pedigree that should also be studied with great detail for it shows a extremely strong reinforcement of the Promises Free, Red Swinger, Nation Parade link.

That's because More Than This is by Shining Kev (Shining Chariot-Rose Caprice).

It is Rose Caprice that is the key here.

She was by Amerigo Man-Black Caprice and she is intensely in-bred 2x2 to Promises Free and her litter brother Nation Parade.

And this is found in exactly the position Promises Free and her other litter brother Red Swinger are found in the pedigree of Mum Was Magic.

Thus the make-up of More Than This, second dam of Clone Your Own, is as intense as one could get. She has a 2x2 inbreeding to virtual sisters Rose Caprice and Mum Was Magic, who themselves are in-bred 2x2 to Promises Free and her brothers.

If you think that was intense in-breeding - look again.

Black Caprice (dam of Rose Caprice) and Little Denver (damsire of More Than This) are both out of daughters of Waroo Lass.

More Than This obviously was saturated with the blood of some of the greatest names in Australian pedigrees.

The fact the bitch could run to the stage she was a Group placegetter in an Auckland Oaks is an added bonus.

It really didn't matter what More Than This, or her daughter Elie Saab, were mated to. They had to be successful at stud such was their pre-potency.

More Than This produced Elie Saab from a mating to Fashion Thief (No Intent-Token Fever) the winner of 26 races and more than $100,000. He was a brother to Jaylo Blush.

Elie Saab raced 44 times for nine wins and 21 placings. She stayed a middle distance.

When she went to Droopys Marco it was simply to provide an outlet for her saturated pedigree to come through.

It did, in the shape of the Kiwi Group winner at Sandown of the Harrison-Dawson, Clone Your Own.

His litter also includes Call Me Ralph winner of 11 races, and the handy gallopers Jay Cee Hurt, Rodriguez and Talk It Over all multiple NZ winner.

It should also be noted that Droopys Marco is also in-bred to Phantom Flash and his genetic sister Westmead Flight, and has Murlens Toe and her brother Murlens Slippy positioned to impact in his pedigree.

Putting an in-bred bitch to an in-bred sire, although not related, worked to produce a Group 2 Harrison-Dawson winner.